Govt has changed policy for tribal areas, says minister

ISLAMABAD, Jan 26: The government has changed its policy towards the tribal areas after the induction of a new governor in the NWFP, caretaker Interior Minister Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz Khan said here on Saturday.

Talking to journalists before a meeting of the National Public Safety Commission, the minister accused the militants of violating all peace agreements.

He said that election-related activities were in full swing in Swat and other tribal areas and security forces were trying to ensure peace and calm in the Kurram Agency.

The government, he said, would ensure provision of security to leaders of mainstream political parties.

The interior minister said the government had beefed up the security of politicians to ensure peaceful elections.

He said the general election would be held according to schedule on Feb 18, adding that there was no situation which might cause a delay.

“I don’t foresee any circumstances which may lead to the delay of the general election. The government has beefed up the security across the country and the (security forces) will remain deployed till the conduct of general elections,” he said.

The minister said that information yielded by some arrested terrorists had led to the arrests of some suspects believed to be involved in terrorist activities.

However, he declined to give details of the detained people.

The minister praised the performance of law-enforcement agencies for maintaining peace during the days preceding the Ashura, adding that such security measures boosted the security forces’ confidence.

He said that detectives of the Scotland Yard probing the assassination of Benazir Bhutto would return to Pakistan soon and the Yard might send other investigators if the UK team needed their assistance.

He said the foreign detectives had sought a two-week period for submitting their report but the government had provided them the maximum possible time.

He said that of the six detectives three were ballistics experts while the others were explosives experts who had collected all available evidence and if they wanted, they would collect more evidence.

He said that the National Public Safety Commission had recommended that police chiefs all over the country should be appointed on its recommendations, but the decision could not be implemented because of some reasons.

He said that recommendations were successfully being followed at the federation level.—APP

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Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.